My first print in my Grandfather's darkroom ( with a lot of help ) was of a shot I took on a camera he leant me ( KODAK Retinette ) of a mirror class dinghy on Lake Windermere in 1969...I still have the print, the neg, the camera and most importantly...the passion, I still love printing.

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited

Might you consider posting a representative scan in the APUG Standard Gallery?

Could be kind of fun, might inspire a few others to try it themselves, and surely couldn't be any worse than what the rest of us routinely post...

"When making a portrait, my approach is quite the same as when I am portraying a rock. I do not wish to impose my personality upon the sitter, but, keeping myself open to receive reactions from his own special ego, record this with nothing added: except of course when I am working professionally, when money enters in,—then for a price, I become a liar..."

There's something special about that first roll of film coming out of the tank and WOW THERE ARE IMAGES ON IT! IT WORKED!!

Then you get to do it all over again with your first print. Expose, dunk it in the developer...hey, I think I see something...WHOA! YEAH! I MADE A PHOTOGRAPH!!

My first ever print was bloody awful. Completely misread the test strip. Underexposed horribly. It will never go in a frame on the wall, but I do plan to keep it around because, well, it was my first ever print. It means something to me.

"He took to writing poetry and visiting the elves: and though many shook their heads and touched their foreheads and said 'Poor old Baggins!' and though few believed any of his tales, he remained very happy till the end of his days, and those were extraordinarily long "- JRR Tolkien, ' The Hobbit '.